


To Have And To Hold (And Never, Ever Let Go)

by cjr09



Category: Eldemore
Genre: Gift Fic, I'm gonna get fired, M/M, bena pls stop me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-06
Updated: 2016-03-06
Packaged: 2018-05-24 17:19:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6160819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cjr09/pseuds/cjr09
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Numair gets Felix a ring.</p><p>A very specific ring, which means a lot more than Felix is sure Numair understands.</p><p>(Numair understands perfectly)</p>
            </blockquote>





	To Have And To Hold (And Never, Ever Let Go)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Benathorn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Benathorn/gifts).



> *ignores canon harder than before*

"You don't need any more rings, Numair," Felix says, not yet resorting to trying to drag Numair around and out of the jewelry store, but he certainly would soon- people were giving them odd looks already, a scarred man with an eye patch and tall blonde with a coat made out of void, and some security officers were already hovering around them, blocking the exits.

 

"Yes I do, Felix, you wouldn't understand because you're an unfashionable human," Numair says distractedly as he carefully inspects an array of rings through their glass case, though nothing catches his eye.

 

Felix snorts, rolling his eye, and obliges Numair by lazily looking over the rings and necklaces as well, finally stopping at a section several down from Numair, who is carefully examining a few more simple, golden bands with a careful eye.

 

"Hey, this one looks like you," Felix says, looking over to where his companion is- was, because suddenly Numair is pressed close and very in his face as he leans into Felix to look at what he's pointing at.

 

Numair hums noncommittally- too close to Felix's ear, and loops an arm about his waist when he tries to step away from the Ancient, keeping Felix firmly in his place at Numair's side with his iron grip.

 

"Hmm, I suppose it _does_ look a bit like the void," Numair says, carefully inspecting the rings- most of them are large and gaudy, and while there could be a circumstance that called for them they're not what he's looking for.

 

"Hmm, Felix, gold or silver?" Numair asks, pressing his arm slowly tighter around Felix's midsection as the human squirms.

 

"What?" Felix asks, momentarily confused enough to let Numair get the upper hand- not like he didn't already have it- and haul him mostly in front of the Ancient, pinned between the glass case and Numair's hip digging into his lower back.

 

"It's  _pardon,_ Felix, not 'what'," Numair corrects lazily, adjusting himself so he's more properly pressed against Felix's back- his human's breath catches and he tenses, heart racing as he beginnings of a simply charming flush appear on his cheeks.

 

 _"Numair!"_ Felix hisses, and Numair hums, pressing his smile into Felix's neck to feel the pulse race underneath it,  _"we are in public!"_

 

"And what a shame that is," Numair agrees, ghosting his teeth along Felix's jugular just to feel he shiver that runs down his spine at the action, "but you never answered my question. Gold or silver, Felix?"

 

"I don't- I don't know!" Felix snaps under his breath, trying not to draw any more attention to them than they already have, "Isn't- isn't gold really more your thing?"

 

"Hmm, it really is. Alright, gold it is!"

 

All at once, Felix is slumped against the glass case, gripping the sides with a white-knuckled grip as Numair talks to a scared-looking assistant across the aisle, pointing to the rings Felix had pointed out looked like him- blue sandstone, apparently- and Felix forces himself to stand straight, popping his collar to hide as much of his blushing face as he can as he beats a quick retreat.

 

Numair couldn't possibly get into  _that_ much trouble in the few minutes Felix was leaving him alone.

 

Right?

 

* * *

 

 

 "I want this one," Numair declares, pointing to the ring of his choosing- it's simple, perhaps more so than Numair would  _like_ , but Felix would appreciate the simple, subtle gesture more.

 

The things Numair does for his human.

 

"Um, sir, are you aware that this is an engagement ring?" The assistant says, voice shaking, and Numair shoots him a glare to quiet him.

 

Anengagement ring- oh, for that silly human tradition of marriage?

 

 

"Oh, that sounds perfect!" Numair exclaims, louder than is probably necessary, given the flinch of the assistant, clapping his hands together joyously.

 

Humans do typically have to stay with their marriage partner for life, don't they?

 

"Yes, and I want that one," Numair answers him finally, and the assistant meekly goes to get the manager to unlock the glass case and get him his ring.

 

All he had to do was give Felix the ring, and he'd be his forever! Not that he wasn't already, but this would keep the other humans off of  _his_ human- a mark of ownership that Felix wouldn't heal away in a few days. Not that Numair _wouldn't_ keep leaving those on him, rather-

 

"What a wonderful choice in a ring!" The manager- an older woman with familiar twinkling purple eyes- says, carefully choosing a box to put it in; classic black velvet with red silk inside, like the necklace Numair gave Felix all that time ago.

 

"Any ideas on how you're going to propose yet?" She asks, and Numair blinks in surprise. Propose? Sounds like an awful lot of work to just give Felix a ring- but a quick flicker through time shows that the proposal means a lot to the receiver of the ring, a show of intention and prowess on the giver's part- and Numair returns to the manager's smiling face with a mirroring one.

 

"Yes, I think so. I'm going to take him dancing," Numair says, lowering his voice to a conspiratorial whisper, and she laughs quietly.

 

"It sounds like it will be a beautiful time," she says, handing him his purchase and accepting the card he brandishes in return- it's not his, money is such a fickle thing, he nicked it from a billionaire who won't notice anything missing- and he pockets it as Felix finally emerges from wherever he'd hidden out in and he waves at him to catch his attention.

 

"Good luck," she whispers, knowing, and Numair smiles charmingly back.

 

"It's only a matter of timing."

 

* * *

 

 

"Felix!" Numair yells, appearing in Felix's bedroom- it's been sixty minutes exactly since he let Felix 'sleep', his end of the bargain has been held up- and Felix mutters something into his pillow that would sound like 'good morning Numair' if not for the obvious 'f' at the beginning of the first word.

 

"I'll let that slide this time, Felix," Numair warns, hovering above Felix's prone form- the man had, once again, just passed out face down on his bed in his attire from last time- dealing with Helen, he'd almost forgotten in his rush to make sure everything was set up perfectly for this- he feels nervous, for some reason, which must be yet another human emotion Felix rubbed off on him- and Felix pushes himself up with trembling arms only to flop back down almost immediately- and Numair huffs, picking him up by the back of his shirt, teleporting under Felix's body.

 

Felix slumps into him and doesn't move.

 

"I'm up," he mutters into Numair's neck, clutching at the Ancient's sides, but doesn't open his eyes, and soon enough (twelve seconds) Felix is asleep again, curled on top of Numair.

 

"I  _suppose_ you should be well-rested for this," Numair says into Felix's hair, the weight of the box in his pocket nothing compared to the warm weight of Felix, far more relaxed sleeping on Numair than he was on his bed.

 

 _"Fine,"_ Numair grumbles halfheartedly as he squirms to get comfortable under Felix, running a soothing hand through his human's messy hair as he stirs slightly.

 

"You can have a couple more hours, because you're cute like this. You're cute all the time, but you're especially cute like this," Numair says, holding Felix close.

 

Right where he should be.

 

* * *

 

 

Felix wakes up feeling warm and well rested, and he is immediately on guard.

 

"You slept for six hours, seventeen minutes, and thirty two seconds," Numair cheerfully informs him- right above him, under him, all around him- and Felix finally registers what exactly the warm and comfortable form under him is and scrambles to get off of him.

 

Numair's comfortable hold becomes an iron grip and Felix huffs in defeat, slumping his full body weight into an 'accidental' elbow to the ribs and Numair huffs out a breath in surprise and what is hopefully pain.

 

Numair glares wordlessly in warning and Felix sighs into Numair's chest, "What do you want?"

 

"Can't I just let my dear friend Felix have this 'sleep' he goes on so long about?" Numair asks, curiously content to keep Felix where he is- Felix can't see his face from where he lies but he can tell by the tone that Numair's infuriating grin is back on his face in full force.

 

"What do you want?" Felix repeats, and Numair finally let him go enough so he can at least hold himself up and glare him in the face- Numair's eyes are bright with mirth and amusement, and Felix  _glares._

 

He's always so cute when he does that- hair mussed from sleep and Numair's hands, eyes furious and unimpressed, cute furrow in his brow...

 

" _We_ are going dancing," Numair says, instead of awing over Felix, and Felix has the gall to roll his eyes.

 

"Where are you dragging me this time?" Felix asks, and Numair poofs out from underneath him, letting him hit the bed with an  _omph_.

 

"Not far- we don't even have to leave my realm! Just going to visit a different door today," Numair sing-songs, and Felix is immediately wary, standing on shaky legs.

 

"What kind of-  _Numair!"_ he stops with a half-shriek- the ghostly sensation of Numair's hands tingles on his skin as he looks down at his new suit- it's strangely normal, something he'd wear in his own time, and Felix narrows his eye threateningly at Numair.

 

The Ancient was having far, far too much fun.

 

Numair, for his part, is in much the same kind of attire- though it's clearly been woven from void, like his usual attire, and his smile spells trouble.

 

"Now that we're both in the proper attire-" Numair says, banishing his hat in a flash of gold fire- Felix raises his eyebrows, the Ancient rarely, if ever, takes off his hat- and the Ancient holds out a gloved hand to Felix, eyes half lidded in mischief and ill intent; a reminder of their first meeting and subsequent deal.

 

Felix takes his hand and they dead drop into Numair's realm.

 

* * *

 

Numair hasn't been this giddy since he took Felix to that amusement park all that time ago- and he hasn't been this nervous since before Felix, either.

 

He's not sure what he's so nervous about, even- it's not like Felix could say  _no_ to him, and even if he did it wouldn't change anything.

 

Felix was still  _his._ Forever and always, as long as his annoyingly mortal lifespan would allow for and beyond that- he fought Death for his soul once, and would do it again.

 

"Numair,  _ow,"_ Felix reminds, scrabbling at Numair's hand that was threatening to crush his in the Ancient's grip.

 

"You mortals are so fragile," Numair scoffs, instead of getting angry about losing track of time  _yet again-_ this must be Felix's fault somehow, it only happens with him and it's been happening with increasing frequency as of late- and holds Felix's hand in his death grip for a moment longer before releasing him.

 

Felix mutters under his breath, rubbing his sore hand, and Numair hums, smiling at his human in his best approximation of an innocent grin.

 

"You're not cute," Felix grumbles at Numair, refusing to give in to the Ancient's games- he regrets everything, especially Numair, he regrets  _everything_ about Numair- and Numair gasps in mock offense, raising a gloved hand over his mouth to cover it and Felix smiles shyly despite himself.

 

It's times like these he could almost imagine them friends.

 

"Don't try and distract me, Felix," Numair warns in a tone Felix could mistake for _good-natured_ , taking Felix's hands again and walking backwards, hauling him along and into Numair as he abruptly stops.

 

"What on Eldemore has gotten into you?" Felix asks, trying to pull back from Numair but he just hums, thinking.

 

"Well, it's not the ballroom I made, but..." Numair trails off, sweeping his eyes over the front of his time-warped house and the grass and lone tree in front of it, "I think I'd rather we danced here."

 

"What-" Felix starts, confused, and Numair laces the fingers of their hands together, forcibly moving Felix's free hand to Numair's side, sliding his own hand around to rest on Felix's hip, fingers splayed to cover as much of Felix as he can.

 

"I want to dance here," Numair says, decisively, starting to move and Felix stumbles to keep up and not step on the Ancient's toes.

 

"Listen, Felix," Numair says, low and rumbling, "Can't you hear the music?"

 

"I'm pretty sure that's just the screams of the people you've thrown in the void over the years," Felix answers, ducking his head to avoid Numair's sharp, golden gaze and focus on not standing on his toes.

 

Numair chuckles, pressing his lips to the top of Felix's head- he tenses, and looks up to glare at the Ancient, "Who are you and what have you done with Numair?"

 

"Can't I have a little human fun with you, Felix?" Numair asks in return, tugging him along to a beat only Numair can hear.

 

"No," Felix answers flatly, searching Numair's face before just deciding to go with the Ancient's whims for now, ducking his head again to try and match Numair's steps.

 

Numair smiles softly as they dance to the quiet music of the void, spinning in half steps to the beat and life of Numair's realm and Felix's own heartbeat.

 

Numair raises the hand still holding Felix's to his cheek, and his human looks up in surprise from where he'd been focused on keeping pace with Numair's dance, and Numair takes the opportunity of Felix's upturned face, open and disarmed with surprise, to lean in and kiss him.

 

Felix freezes and staggers through Numair's next steps, one eye wide- the kiss is sweet and soft and chaste, if lasting, and in a fit of madness, some part of Felix decides that this isn't like Numair at all and bites down on the Ancient's bottom lip until he can taste blood.

 

Numair jerks back in surprise, rage then confusion then delighted shock twisting through his features as he suddenly stops, sure steps staggering to a halt as he laughs, releasing Felix to almost double over in laughter, loud and ringing and the lights of the void glow brighter, twinkling in a reflection of Numair's joy, and Felix stands stock still, fighting back a blush and more than a little confused.

 

"Oh, my dear Felix, never change," Numair gasps out through his laughter, actually floating on his back midair as the shocks of laughter drain out of him, smiling more earnestly and openly than Felix has seen in a while, blood from his split lip running down his cheek in a slow crawl.

 

"You're so-" Felix starts, but Numair's laughter is infectious and he throws his hands up to cover his burning face and smile, and Numair pounces on the opportunity, gripping Felix's wrists and trying to bring them away from his face.

 

"I'm so what? Charming? Handsome?" He guesses, finally succeeding in bringing Felix's hands away from his face only to step back swiftly to dodge his punch.

 

"You're such a dick," Felix laughs, and there's the smile Numair was hoping for- shy and lopsided and cuter than even his adorable little Derp.

 

"Why Felix! You could've just asked, if that's what was on your mind," Numair gasps, just to get Felix to laugh more.

 

"Oh my god," he groans, raising his hands to his face again, trying to get his sudden laughter under control as he falls dramatically backwards- Numair would never let him live this down- and Numair hovers above him, voice light and teasing.

 

"Yes, I suppose you could call me that too," he sing-songs, and Felix shoves his hands blindly up at him, Numair gently catching his wrists as he sinks back to the ground, hauling Felix into a sitting position as he runs a tongue over his split lip.

 

"That wasn't very nice, Felix," Numair says, leaning into Felix's space, "See if I give you your gift now."

 

"I know from experience that your gifts are never good things," Felix shoots back, stupid, goofy smile still on his face- he needs to get that under control.

 

 _"Well,"_ Numair snorts, but he pulls the little black box from his pocket anyway.

 

"Here, Felix. May it make you more fashionable," Numair says offhandedly, carefully watching the emotions that flicker through Felix's face as he slowly comes to understanding.

 

"Numair," Felix starts, face burning, "This is an engagement ring."

 

"Engagement?" Numair asks, the picture of innocence, "Sounds uninteresting and human. Unless you mean engaging in combat, that sounds like fun. Is it customary to give someone a ring before fighting them?"

 

"Oh my god," Felix groans again, hiding his face in his hands, and Felix really needs to stop doing that so Numair can see all of the cute faces he's making.

 

"Yes?" Numair asks, because he's charming like that, "you called?"

 

Felix glares at him through the splayed fingers of one hand and punches at his shoulder with the other.

 

"Aren't you going to put it on, Felix?" Numair asks, suddenly impatient, forcing the box into Felix's lap.

 

A thousand protests rise and die on Felix's tongue before he sighs, snatching up the box.

 

"I'm going to make the assumption you don't know what this means to humans, nor do you care, and this is just you being a possessive bastard," he groans, but carefully takes the ring from the box, twisting it around in his hand- it's pretty, despite it all, simple and flat so it looks more like a wedding band than a gaudy engagement ring, flat, burnished gold inlaid with what looks to be a window into space- or in Numair's case, the void.

 

It's something Felix might've picked for himself- Numair clearly put at least some thought into his gift, if didn't actually research anything about the tradition.

 

"Well?" Numair says testily, looking pointedly at Felix's still-ringless finger.

 

"I'm going to put this on specifically so I can punch you in the face with it," Felix warns, though there's no heat behind his words- wouldn't want Numair to get too overzealous with his "lessons" now-and slides the ring on, twisting it so that it's facing the correct direction, void facing upwards so it's clearly visible, and Numair hums happily.

 

"Tell me, Felix," Numair says, grabbing Felix around the middle and manhandling his human so that he's sitting in Numair's lap- Felix's pulse skyrockets and he tries to squirm out of Numair's hold- but Numair simply seizes the hand with his- his, as in  _Numair's-_ ring on it, admiring how it looks against Felix's skin.

 

"What was this you were saying about being engaged?"

**Author's Note:**

> More like enGAYged am I right
> 
> why I can't write less than 3k words for these losers I will never know
> 
> The ring I'm referencing is actually a thing! It's a blue sandstone ring, though I couldn't find many gold ones. 
> 
> As always I hope you guys liked it! I had a lot of fun writing it, and I smiled and giggled a lot as I was and got many concerned looks in the library note to self do not write in public again


End file.
